We're in Winslow, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Skipton , and our lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancing practitioner should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I am buying a end of terrace house in Winslow. Our aim is to an extension at the rear at the property.Will legal conveyancing on the property include checks to ascertain if these alterations are allowed?
Your solicitor should review the registered title as conveyancing in Winslow will sometimes reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prevent categories of alterations or require the permission of a 3rd party. Some works require local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. It would be wise to check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Winslow. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I had an offer accepted on a property in Winslow on 29/9/2025, valuation was booked five days later, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Bank of Ireland and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Winslow and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A high street Winslow conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed an online conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Winslow. We have lived in Winslow for three years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Winslow?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Winslow. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Winslow ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend not give a loan on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Halifax. If you call us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Winslow. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Winslow especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Winslow.
I was pointed in your direction by a few estate agents in Winslow to choose a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your services ahead of another?
We don’t give any financial incentive for sending work our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.